By Carol Britton Meyer

More than a month after the school committee voted to hire a new superintendent, a final employment agreement has not yet been finalized.

Michael Jette, current superintendent of the Litchfield, N.H., school district, was selected from among three finalists following lengthy public interviews with the school committee on January 10.

“Between Mr. Jette’s out-of-country vacation and attorneys on both sides not [being] as available as we would like, there are a few small things that need to be worked out,” Hull superintendent’s office executive secretary and office manager Maggie Ollerhead told The Hull Times in response to an email inquiry. “We do have a verbal agreement in principle between [School Committee Chair] David Twombly and Mr. Jette.”

During the January 22 school committee meeting, Twombly reported that the school committee was moving forward with the hiring of the new superintendent to replace Judith Kuehn, who is retiring at the end of the school year.

“We’re still working on [Jette’s] contract and hope to wrap it up by Wednesday [Jan. 24],” Twombly said at that time. “We had a good interview process, with three very strong candidates.”

That night, the school committee entered into executive session following the meeting in preparation for negotiations with Jette and did not reconvene in open session.

The other candidates were Cohasset resident Sarah Shannon and Michael Tempesta. Shannon – who came in a close second in a straw poll that was taken before the final vote and deliberations by the school committee following the interviews – currently serves as assistant superintendent of teaching and learning for the Canton Public Schools. She is the former assistant principal of the Duxbury Middle School and former principal of the Gates Intermediate School in Scituate.

Tempesta, who was superintendent of the Claremont and Unity school district (SAU 6) in New Hampshire at the time of the interviews, was terminated by the school board effective Jan. 12 after being awarded a five-year contract extension in Dec. 2021, according to an article published in the Claremont-based Eagle Times.

Jette has 32 years of educational experience, including as former superintendent of the Bedford, N.H., school district. During his interview in January, Jette said he was looking toward the next step in his career and was hoping Hull would be his “last stop,” with the intention of dedicating another 10 years to this work.

Jette also said he thinks “smaller is better” with regard to the size of Hull’s school system, allowing for more opportunity to have face-to-face conversations.

In addition, he finds the implementation of a school consolidation plan, which is underway for the Hull Public Schools, of particular interest.

“This will cause a lot of stress, and I think the easiest way [to address these issues] is to recognize the people behind those emotions, engage with them as to where they are, and to do everything possible to set folks up for success in the new environment,” he said during the interview. “It’s all about relationships and making sure everyone is part of the team.”

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